“That was a tantalizing performance,” said manager Bill Inkster after the game. “Very Carlos.”
Valle struck out only three hitters, but walked none and allowed only four hits—none for extra bases. AT the time of this writing, Valle leads the league with 17 wins, and is second behind Long Beach reliever Diogo Lindt in ERA. He’s down-list a bit in WAR, but tied for the league lead in rWAR. He has not lost a game since May 26th, a string of 18 starts—and during that streak, the team has lost only two of those games.
Put it another way, in Carlos Valle’s last 18 starts, the Nine have played a .889 baseball.
It all adds up to say that at 26 years old, Valle, who has long been seen as a solid pitcher, has apparently learned how to really pitch.
PITCHER CREDITS DEFENSE
“The guys behind me are pretty good,” he said after the game. “When you know you can let a guy make some contact still get an out—that makes a big difference.”
Specifically, he’s likely addressing the addition of Dong-po Thum, who is having a nice season at shortstop, and the collection of Miguel Padilla (before being traded), Juan Jopez, and Brian Sullivan, who have handled second base. With Lucas McNeill providing Simmer quality defense at first, there’s a good chance that if Valle gets a ground ball, he gets an out. The September addition of Luis Pena, the sparkling glove man who appears to be prepared to take over at shortstop next year, probably won’t hurt any.
The Nine have one of the top few infields in the league, and to be complete, the outfield defense has been improving all year with the use of rookie Michel Noel in left part time.
Still, he can’t deflect all the attention. Back in the days when the rotation was losing the LaLoosh/Chavez tandem it had relied on so heavily, Valle was pressed into service as a #1 before he was ready. While fans wanted him to be a mature stopper, the fact was the was still a young guy.
Now, though, people are talking big about Carlos Valle, and the numbers back them up. The young Puerto Rican gathered a few votes for the Nebraska last year. We’re not saying he’ll win it this year—because if nothing else, there’s a lot of baseball to be played—but here’s to thinking he’ll be picking up votes from a few more precincts.